Your Five-Step Onboarding for Leaders

Thank you for becoming a Girl Scout Troop Leader! You’ll be shaping the lives of girls in your community and empowering them to become confident, courageous, and caring leaders of tomorrow.

You get to cheer them on as they build new skills, form lasting friendships, and have lots of fun along the way. You’ll also develop your planning, leadership, and people skills in this role and form new friendships!

Step 1: Complete Your Background Check toggle arrow

Once you’ve been registered as a troop leader and assigned a troop, look out for your background check invitation. The background check invitation will come from our supplier, Sterling Volunteers.

Be sure to respond to your background check invitation quickly. Invitation links expire in 48 hours.

If your background check invitation link has expired, please contact [email protected]

Haven’t seen your background check invitation in your email? Check your spam and the other folders in your inbox

Step 2: Read Your Troop Leader Position Description and Sign Your Agreement toggle arrow

As a Troop Leader, your core responsibilities fall into five main categories. But don’t worry, you’re not expected to do it alone! You’ll be building a leadership team that includes your co-leader and troop helpers from among Girl Scout families to support you and your troop. Learn more about troop roles.

As a new troop leader, you don’t have to know it all. As you complete your training, you’ll gain the knowledge and tools you need to confidently and successfully lead in areas like these:

Welcoming Girl Scouts and their families to the troop and helping them feel included and informed
Organizing troop activities with the girls that align with the Girl Scout mission, values, and program, encouraging personal growth and fun
Ensuring the safety of the girls by following Girl Scout safety guidelines and best practices
Managing troop finances transparently in partnership with the troop treasurer
Following Girl Scout policies and procedures as you work toward a positive, safe, and compliant troop experience for the girls, families, and volunteers supporting your troop

View our troop leader position description and agreement.

Remember that you’ll be inviting the families of your Girl Scouts to be part of the volunteer team supporting you and your troop. Among the roles they’ll fill are:

Co-Leader
Treasurer
Cookie Manager
Communication Liaison
Troop Helper
Other troop positions

Step 3: Complete Two Mandatory Trainings on Our gsLearn Platform toggle arrow

The two courses below must be completed before you’re allowed to open a troop bank account or hold your first troop meeting:

Troop Essentials Mandatory
Volunteer Essentials Mandatory

You might also find this guide to accessing the two mandatory courses helpful:

A step-by-step guide to accessing your mandatory courses

Step 4: Attend a New Leaders Seminar or Webinar toggle arrow

The New Leader’s Webinar provides valuable information for all new troop leaders. Whether you’ve been a Girl Scout all your life or you’re brand new, the topics covered will help you prepare for troop leadership

Put GSSEF on your safe email list
Look out for a meeting invite with your Zoom link
Come with your questions and meet other new leaders on Zoom

Quarterly Quickstart is designed to bring new Troop Leaders together to share experiences, swap ideas, and learn from one another, with both in-person and online participation options.

2026 learning webinars:

March 9 - New leader webinar
March 25 - Get to know GS webinar
April 1 - Quarterly Quickstart
April 6 - New leader webinar
April 13 - Get to know GS webinar
April 27 - New leader webinar
May 4 - New leader webinar
May 11 - Get to know GS webinar
May 18 - New leader webinar
June 1 - New leader webinar
June 8 - New leader webinar
June 23- Get to know GS webinar
July 6 - New leader webinar
July 13 - New leader webinar
July 20 - Get to know GS webinar
Aug 3 - Get to know GS webinar
Aug 17 - New leader webinar
Aug 24 - New leader webinar
Sept 14 - New leader webinar
Sept 19 - Girl Scout University event
Sept 21 - New leader webinar
Oct 5 - New leader Webinar
Oct 12 - New leader Webinar
Nov 2 - New leader webinar
Nov 9 - New leader webinar
Dec 7 - New leader Webinar
Dec 14 - New leader Webinar

Step 5: Open a Troop Bank Account for Managing Troop Funds toggle arrow

Every Girl Scout troop is required to manage troop funds responsibly. Opening and maintaining a bank account is an important part of this process.

Each troop must have a bank account
Your troop bank account will be used to collect troop dues, and proceeds from money-earning projects, and council-sponsored product sales, including:
- Sweets and Treats Fall Product Nuts, Candy & Magazines
- Girl Scout Cookie Sale program

Truist is Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida’s partner bank. While you are allowed to open your troop bank account at any bank in the USA, troops are encouraged to use Truist, as they will not be required to pay bank fees to maintain the account.
The signatories on your troop account must be two unrelated Girl Scout members, usually, the Troop Leader and the Troop Treasurer.
Your troop’s ACH account information must be submitted to GSSEF as soon as your account is opened, using this form

Helpful links:

Details about opening a Truist bank account

Your authorization letter to take to Truist Bank

Additional Tools and Resources to Help You Succeed toggle arrow

The rest of the Volunteer Resource Hub has quick links to helpful tools and resources. Reach our Volunteer Support team for help with any of these steps at [email protected]

Online Courses: Links to “must know” and “should know” courses available on our training platform, gsLearn
Learning Centre: Girl Scout handbooks, leader tools, and other learning resources to help you be successful
Troop Planning: Year plans, badges, event calendar, and more to help you plan your Girl Scout Year
Forms & Documents: Find forms and documents that you need for troop finances, travel, accident reporting, health & safety, policy guidelines, and more.
Peer Support: Find Girl Scout support and camaraderie through the Service Unit in your area
Leaders’ Lounge: Your go-to space to connect with fellow troop leaders, stay up to date with Girl Scouts, and swap ideas, stories, and tips
Celebrate Volunteers: Step-by-step guidance to nominate and celebrate your favorite Girl Scout volunteers

Now what? Download this checklist to guide you through your first 3 months as a Troop Leader

Council Finder

New Leaders Start Here

Your Five-Step Onboarding for Leaders